John Doyle: Under new coaches, Marshwood and Noble do an about face

Noble High School football coach Tom Daubney struggled to find the right words to describe how his team's attitude has changed from last year to now.

Once he said it, however, it wasn't hard to understand.

"The best way to put it is, they're now playing to win, not trying not to lose," he said.

The Knights are 3-1 in Western Maine Class A, and down the road in South Berwick, Marshwood is undefeated in Class B. It's a remarkable turnaround for a pair of programs that went a combined 3-13 last year. Both Daubney and Marshwood coach Alex Rotsko are in their first year, trying to get their programs back to the playoffs after long absences.

"Our goal and our cry is to get better every day," said Daubney, who returned to coaching this year after a 20-year absence. "Luckily some of these kids are doing that and that has helped me immensely."

Marshwood last went to the playoffs in 2008, when it was 5-4 and eliminated in the first round of the Western Maine Class A tournament.

"I'm amazed at how fast the kids have picked up our system and how hard they've worked at it," Rotsko said. "I wasn't here last year so there's no way for me to see if there's been any attitude change. But they've played and practiced with confidence. Each week we believe in ourselves a little more."

The head coach at Longmeadow (Mass.) for 19 seasons, Rotsko led the Lancers to a 184-38 overall record during his tenure, which included 11 Western Mass. Division I Super Bowl titles.

The Hawks are coming off a pair of blowout wins, 54-0 at home against Falmouth two weeks ago and 35-13 at Lake Region last Friday. Rotsko said the key to Marshwood's offense is its balance.

"We have four running backs and our quarterback (Cameron Roll) is a converted running back," Rotsko said. "I think he's our second-leading rusher right now. They're all unselfish about it. They all block for each other, which is critical in our offense."

Daubney has high praise for Noble's offensive and defensive lines, which feature seven sophomores and two freshmen.

"I'm not going to mention their names because they have two years to get better," Daubney said with a laugh. "Maybe that will keep them working."

Noble's "no-name" O-line has given plenty of support for the four backs — Ethan Beaulier (Daubney's grandson), Derek Shute, Jon Badger and L.T. Flores, who ran for a pair of touchdowns as Noble edged Biddeford last Friday night. Senior defensive end David Thibault blocked a potential go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter vs. the Tigers.

Rotsko had high praise for his front line, anchored by juniors Beau Blanchette and Tyler Gagnon and senior Eric Pratt.

"The line, from Day 1, has really improved and has been the biggest surprise," Rotsko said. "They're not overly big but they play hard and know what it is we're trying to do."

Daubney coached at Portsmouth from 1970-1992 and took over a Noble team that had gone 5-35 over its previous five seasons and last made the postseason in 2006. Like Rotsko, Daubney could not speak on the team's attitude before he arrived, but did say there has always been the potential for success at Noble.

"I don't think anybody could ever say Noble kids weren't tough," Daubney said. "It's difficult for a kid who believes he can win and it just doesn't happen. They were always competitive. Things didn't fall on the right side of things. Now that we've won a couple of times, for good or bad, they think they can win every game they're in. I think that's good. But they're not wondering when the other shoe is going to fall. We're trying to do things that make the outcome in their favor."

Rotsko said his squad has its sights set on the playoffs,

"Right now that's our goal," Rotsko said. "I don't know if we're guaranteed a spot right now, but we've beaten some good teams so far. We've got some big games coming up, so if one of both of them are Ws, we should be in."

Wherever Noble and Marshwood end up at the end of the season, both teams are worlds apart from where they were one short year ago.

John Doyle is a staff sports writer and Sunday sports editor for Foster's Daily Democrat. Email at jdoyle@fosters.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnDoyle603.